What is a Hashtag?
A hashtag is a label used on social media platforms that makes it easier and simpler to search for posts or information or data with a theme or contains determined content. It is created by using the symbol “#” at the start of a word or words without spaces.
Hashtags were introduced in 1988 on a platform known as Internet Relay Chat or IRC to group messages, images, content, and video into categories. The purpose was so users can search for hashtags and find content associated with them.
By July of 2009, Twitter formally adopted hashtags, and anything with a # in front of it became hyper-linked. And the move was later accentuated when Twitter introduced “Trending Topics,” placing the most popular hashtags on its homepage.
Businesses have come up with some of the most popular hashtags to promote a specific product or service. Small companies have followed suit, incorporating trending hashtags into their social media presence. It’s a way to join in on a conversational topic and to create a new dialogue.
Some companies use hashtags to keep up with their competitors’ marketing, learning what generates and doesn’t generate interest. These meta tags can also be used to talk-up a campaign or spread buzz about an upcoming event.
From there, hashtags were adopted by other platforms and became part of the internet lexicon. Instagram, which was launched in 2010, has used them from day one. Facebook added them in 2013. Google+, Tumblr, and Pinterest also let users group content by simply using the #symbol.
Hashtag basics-
- They always begin with # but they won’t be of use if you use spaces, punctuation or symbols.
- Make sure your accounts are public. Because then hashtagged content you write won’t be seen by any non-followers.
- Don’t string too many words together. The best hashtags usually are short and easy to recollect.
- Use relevant and content driven hashtags. If it is vague, it will be difficult to find and it won’t likely be used by other social media users.
- Limit the number of hashtags you use. More isn’t always a good idea. It actually looks spammy.
Four Reasons to Use Hashtags-
- Hashtags make the process simple and easy – Searching a hashtag pulls results for each post using that hashtag. Using a hashtag helps you reach your target audience, and makes it simpler for others to find your account.
- They force an action –When a user sees a post that is of interest, they will mostly spend time looking through content scrolled up by the hashtag.
- Hashtags grow & change with time – Hashtags are being used by almost all the platforms, impacting the amount of content put directly in front of social media users.
- They reward the differentiated –Hashtags make finding content/posts easier for social media users. A unique hashtag makes your message stand out to the users who find the hashtag useful.
3 powerful families of hashtags that are used on social media-
Content hashtags:
If you’re totally new hashtags, first think about using some that directly relate to your product, service, market or area of experience. These are the ‘content hashtags’ because they connect to the content that your content would be naturally related to. As you’ll imagine, they’re going to greatly expose your brand to potential customers on those social media platforms who weren’t previously conversant in your brand.
Trending hashtags:
Another good way to spice up your brand’s visibility is using existing hashtags that have grown popular among many users, also referred to as ‘trending hashtags’. Watch out: before you add the ‘#’ symbol to a moving topic, remember to first ask yourself whether your social media posts are adding value/content to the existing information. Values are often interpreted in many ways: a singular piece of data, an ingenious look or opinion at what’s going on, or just a funny statement or image. If your post doesn’t add any value, it’s highly likely to be ignored and lost within the plethora of posts. However your post is informative/content driven, funny or viral, it’ll get re-posted by fellow users ultimately increasing awareness of your brand. Usually, trending hashtags are a lot of fun!
Brand-specific hashtags:
Often, the matter with using generic or popular hashtags is that your content could be lost within the crowd of many messages using equivalent hashtags. Hence, it’s an honest idea to make your own dedicated ‘brand-specific hashtags’. These are often used for general branding, promotions, events, contests or other marketing campaigns. The key to making an efficient brand-specific hashtag is to make sure that there’s nobody else using an equivalent hashtag. It has to be unique and memorable. For general branding, use a brief motto or tagline. When creating marketing campaign-specific hashtags, confirm to offer users a compelling incentive to use them. For example, you could get users/public to post with a campaign-specific hashtag/ content driven hashtag to stand a chance to get discounts or win prizes. In return, your brand stands to profit from major viral marketing publicity.
What’s the Most Important Thing about Hashtags?
Remember, hashtags not only help users find posts about specific information, they help you reach more people who are interested in what your content/profile is about. Create hashtags that fit your industry/profile by using common industry-related terms. Hashtags are the easiest way to assemble the endless amount of data posted to social media so that you’re only seeing what you find relevant. When it comes to hashtags, the mantra is, less is more. Keep their use to three or lesser per post/tweet when you can, and when you find one that works, keep using and continuing with it.
How To Create Your Own Hashtag?
There are times when you might want to compose your own hashtag. You may want one to complement an event/campaign so attendees can track social posts. Or, you might have a distinctive marketing campaign that needs its own hashtag.
A good hashtag is:
- Memorable.
- Unique.
- Relevant to the content you’re sharing.
balancing is must:
- Make it unique but simple to remember.
- Don’t make your hashtag so wide/vague that it’s hard to track.
Since their introduction to the mainstream internet, hashtags have gone from a convenient way to group content to an indispensable tool. In 2010, they were used to coordinate the Arab Spring. The hashtag #MeToo is used to raise awareness about sexual assault and harassment. The latest hashtag to go viral is #WhatBlackPantherMeansToMe, which is being used to celebrate a superhero movie starring black actors and African American culture. Now the question isn’t “How will we organize topics on social media?,” it’s “What will be the next movement to be inspired by a hashtag?”
The Plus Plum 